June 2 postgame quotes: Chicago

Joel Quenneville, on Chicago’s fast start:
“Yeah, I thought we had a real good start the first five minutes. They had the next five. I think we finished the rest of that period well. They were all good starting the second. I think we got a little bit loose with our game after that. But certainly put us in a real good spot.”

Quenneville, on the defense activating the attack:
“They’ve been quick in puck areas, they’ve been moving the puck, joining the attack, on the point in the offensive zone, complementing with our speed and forechecking. It’s one more option offensively. Seabs, exactly what we’re talking about, exactly illustrates that with a big shot, heck of a shot, heck of a goal.

Quenneville, on the message heading into a building where Los Angeles has won 14 straight:
“We want to be excited. We’ll go on the plane tomorrow, get there. It’s going to be a hostile environment. We want to make sure our start is going to be very important, that we’re proactive in our game, and let’s do the right things.”

Quenneville, on the performance of Brandon Saad:
“I thought he had a heck of a game tonight. He was dangerous, a threat off the rush, had a lot of puck time. Made some nice plays, some nice moves. Play like that really complements our team game.

Quenneville, on Bryan Bickell’s performance:
“Bick, you noticed him in the game, with his size, whether it’s on the forecheck with hits, getting to the front of net. He’s got a big shot, big size, and skates well. He does all the things you look for a forward to do. Power forward, talked about that earlier. Around the net, some of them, they’re going in for him. I know he was fortunate on that one, but he’s in the right spots.”

Quenneville, on whether he was surprised to “chase” Jonathan Quick out of the game:
“Well, we had some nice shots. We had some high-quality stuff off the rush, as well, in that period. I still think that’s going to be an ongoing challenge with him. Some nights they go in. But I still think he’s a special goalie that we got to keep trying to — if we got the quality, we got the quality. But trying to make it quality by what we do has to be something we look for.”

Quenneville, on whether the team’s speed and transition game is where he wants it to be:
“I know when we make them play defense, it plays into our favor. We want to make sure because if you don’t get pucks in, you’re in your end the rest of the shift. We want to make sure making them turn, playing in their end, be it cleanly or indirectly, both teams, that’s their motivation. Getting it out as quickly as possible. That’s the game. Utilizing the speed in the puck area is something we’ll try to
get better at, as well.”

Patrick Sharp, on not wanting to talk much about Jonathan Quick in a playoff series:
“Yeah, it’s nothing against Quick. No disrespect to him. I think he’s one of the top goalies in the world. He’s tough to play against. But as a shooter, a guy that’s trying to score on him, the more I talk about how good he is, it makes it tougher for me. Wasn’t meant to disrespect him. Trust me, I think he’s a good goalie. As far as tonight, I thought we came out, skated well. Scoring that first goal was big, getting the crowd into it. It was loud right away. We seemed to feed off that.”

Sharp, on whether the team was awoken by being on the brink of elimination:
“A little bit. This time of year you try to carry momentum as long as you can. Every game presents different challenges. We felt great about coming back in that Detroit series. Game 7 was a huge high for us. That seems like a long time ago now. We’re past that and we’re focused on the Kings. We’re happy to win the first two games at home. We know how well the Kings play in their building. The series is just getting started, really.”

Sharp, on Corey Crawford:
“Yeah, he’s awesome. Been answering questions all year about Corey, if he’s the No. 1 guy, if he can do it. Said the same answer all along. There’s no question in our locker room. He’s the guy we want in net back there. He’s proven it in the past. It’s nice to see him finally get the credit that he deserves.”

Sharp, on Chicago scoring four times against Quick:
“Haven’t really thought about it really. Things happen fast out there. A couple two-on-ones, a couple in-tight goals. I don’t know. He makes saves that you think you have an open net, he’ll come out of nowhere and steal it from you. That kind of screws up your confidence. I don’t really think too much about how the goals go in. You just kind of play. Been playing hockey our whole lives. Just kind of react out there.”

Sharp, on Brandon Saad:
“Yeah, he was great tonight. He’s been solid all playoffs. Tough to believe he’s the age that he is. He’s one of those players that he doesn’t really need to show up on the score sheet to be effective. He’s such a powerful skater, plays well defensively, creates loose pucks. He creates so much for his linemates that, as I said, he really doesn’t need to be on the score sheet to play a great game. Tonight he stripped a lot of pucks, killed a lot of plays. This time of year, that’s really important.”

Corey Crawford, on pulling Kyle Clifford off Jonathan Toews:
“The guy grabbed him, got a couple free shots. I figured it was enough. I just decided to go in there and grab his head.”

Crawford, on facing the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner at the opposite end:
“Yeah, it’s competitive. You want to beat the other guy on the other side obviously. Like you said, my focus is more on their players, what they’re doing. But yeah, I definitely want to beat him.”

Crawford, on his own performance:
“I feel like I’ve been pretty strong, pretty consistent this year. I’ve taken pride in that this year, to have the same game every night, give our guys a chance. With a team like this, you know, we have such a great offense, just give our guys a chance and make sure it stays within a goal or two, and
we’re in good shape.”

Crawford, on the United Center fans chanting his name:
“It’s pretty cool. We’ve had great fans for a while. It’s obviously nice when they’re chanting and not booing you.”

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